This is one in a series of stories looking at contested races in the March 19 primary election.
The race for Kane County recorder in the Democratic primary in March is between Marisela Villegas and Brenda Rodgers.
The primary election is March 19. Current Kane County Recorder Sandy Wegman is running unopposed in the Republican primary.
Rodgers, of Elgin, is running for the third time for county recorder and said she brings decades of real estate experience with her. She has also been a member of the Elgin City Council.
“The most important part of the recorder’s job includes keeping land records and keeping veterans records with their DD214 documents which relates to their benefits after they are honorably discharged,” she said. “As I encounter people and knock on doors of residents – most of them, nine out of 10 – are not aware of the services the recorder’s office offers or what it does.”
Rodgers said it “is important that elected officials let individuals know what their duties are.”
“We keep copies of plat of surveys for developers, recording deeds and keeping old property records,” she said. “We need to make people aware of the services offered, making seniors aware of what is going on. There is a property watch that has been around for six or seven years, a service that the recorder’s office has. If someone tries to put a lien against a person’s property without their knowledge it alerts them if someone tries to replace their name or any activity on their property.”
Rodgers said she would like the position of recorder “because I am a Realtor and feel the office can do much more.”
“We need people to be aware of services. The office currently doesn’t accept debit or credit cards and we need to make it more user-friendly for individuals that want to do transactions because a lot of people don’t carry cash now,” she said.
Working with seniors and services they need also has to be enhanced, she said.
She said that offering regular town hall meetings and informational seminars “will help keep people informed.”
Villegas, 31, of Aurora, is a first-time candidate who is currently working in the Kane County Recorder’s Office.
The top function of the recorder, she said, “is taking what the public brings us and making it public record.”
“We deal mostly with land records. We work with the deeds to people’s houses and keeping track of titles. If people lose them, they can always get a copy,” she said. “We keep track of documents – the deed and mortgage, any liens against your house are all there. We record the DD214 documents for veterans and also offer a property watch.”
Another function is working closely “with villages and cities in Kane County,” she said.
“They come and bring ordinances of recorded plots of subdivisions and other things that need to be recorded,” Villegas said. “I am interested in this position. I think we need a fresh face. I’ve been working in the office the past two years and enjoyed it and would like to continue doing it.
“We need to keep track of any technology changes – that’s obviously important – and as laws change we are an office that follows what the state says, so we need to make sure we are on top of any changes that happen with that,” she said.
Villegas adds that outreach into the community is also important and “making people aware of what we do and the services we offer by holding different events in different places.”
“We need to let our seniors know about our property watch and letting them know they can always go online and look at documents pertaining to their properties,” she said.
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
